1. Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with earth working machines and more particularly with scrapers which are pulled by tractors. More particularly the invention is concerned with an improvement in such an earth working machine in the form of a beam suspended generally vertically from the spreader and forwardly from the bowl, the beam supporting ripper sockets and means for adjusting the vertical separation between the beam and the spreader whereby ripper teeth extending from ripper shanks held within the ripper sockets can be adjusted to contact the ground at a desired angle and separation from the bottom of the scraper bowl. Such an arrangement has been found to be particularly useful with self loading auger scrapers.
2. Prior Art
The prior art discloses a number of scraper-tractor combinations wherein the tractor pulls the scraper and wherein a ripper assembly is supported by the tractor as for example in the road-working machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,984,026 or is supported by the draft arms which connect the tractor to the scraper as for example in the apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,328. When the ripper assembly is supported by the tractor, said ripper assembly generally does not travel up and down along with the forward end of the scraper. Thus, a correlation between the positioning of the cutting edge of the scraper and the ripper assembly is not automatically obtained with up and down movement of the spreader. Similarly, when the ripper assembly is carried by the draft arms which connect the scraper to the tractor the ripper assembly does not travel up and down along with the spreader. Thus, the positioning between the ripper assembly and more particularly between the teeth of the ripper assembly and the cutting edge of the scraper is not geometrically fixedly related. Further, in such assemblies as are mentioned above, strongly triangulated support for the ripper assembly is not provided and thus the ripper assemblies are subject to damage during heavy earth moving usage.
The present invention is particularly concerned with a ripper assembly which is supported both by a spreader at the forward end of a scraper and by the sides of the bowl of a scraper whereby triangulated support is provided for the ripper assembly and whereby also the ripper assembly travels up and down along with the forward end of the scraper (along with the spreaders so that the cutting edge of the scraper and the ripper assembly are geometrically placed in a selectively determinable manner relative to one another. Advantages attained are added strength and added coordination of ripper assembly-cutting edge operation.